Aggressively Marketed Maternity Care Program at Norton Childrens Hospital - Research Paper Example

NORTON CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2 BACKGROUND AND MANAGEMENT PROBLEM: 3 AIMS OF THE RESEARCH: 4 Marketing Research Problem: 4 Marketing Research Objectives: 4 RESEARCH DESIGN: 4 SAMPLE: 5 Overall Demographics: 5 Importance of factors in hospital selection: 9 HYPOTHESIS TESTING 20 CONTRIBUTION OF FACTORS TO FREQUENCY OF USE: 40 INTERPRETATION OF FINDINGS: 42 CONCLUSION: 43 RECOMMENDATIONS: 44 REFERENCES: 44 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Health care industry has undergone through massive changes and has stimulated fierce competition among the industry players. Companies have recognized the importance of marketing research since a new trend was developed when Medicare started reimbursing hospitals by ways of Diagnose Related Illness (DRG’s). Norton Children’s Hospital has been hit hard by the competition and its management had planned to increase its brand awareness through implementing an aggressive & customized maternity care program. The management considered that it was imperative for them to evaluate the needs and preferences of the customers based on their demographics and provide products and services which fit their individual needs. A research was conducted to identify the factors that contribute most to the selection of a particular hospital for delivery. The research used a survey method to acquire data from the respondents. A questionnaire was designed to which comprised of dichotomous questions, checklists and questions with a rating grid. The sample size composed of 270 individuals with 244 females and 26 males. The research helped Norton to successfully capture a glimpse of the demographics of the local population. The findings of the research showed that males and females significantly differ in rating the importance of different factors. Also it was apparent that females rate the factors highly than their male counterparts, so the importance of female as a target population was highlighted. In addition to that, the research spotlighted the importance of educational level and how it could be used to segment the target market since individuals with different qualification levels rated different factors in a different manner. The study also emphasized on the importance of certain factors which will be helpful in increasing the brand equity. Those mainly include quality of care, friendliness of staff, maternity facilities and reputation of hospital. BACKGROUND AND MANAGEMENT PROBLEM: Health care industry has undergone through massive changes and companies have increasingly become focused towards developing innovative strategies to attract and retain customers. Companies have recognized the importance of marketing research since a new trend was developed when Medicare started reimbursing hospitals by ways of Diagnose Related Illness (DRG’s) rather than on the basis of costs. DRG’s are basically an organized way to classify hospital cases that uses similar hospital resources (Reference). Patients have now become savvier and they decide how they should be treated mainly due to intense competition. Several factors contribute to their choice of selection of a particular hospital and it is vital for companies to consider those factors before launching any product or service. Management Decision Problem: “A major shift in the trends of healthcare industry has caused Norton Children Hospital to be more concerned since revenues have been falling due to stiff competition. The brand recognition is not among the best and management needs to increase the brand awareness through implementing aggressive & customized healthcare programs for its customers.” AIMS OF THE RESEARCH: Marketing Research Problem: Customers are demanding more specialized and customized products within the healthcare industry so it has became imperative for the companies to evaluate the needs and preferences of the customer based on their demographics and provide products and services which fit their individual needs. The customers are also not aware of the perceived value of our service therefore we need to create brand equity which will serve as a long term weapon for sustaining our business. Marketing Research Objectives: To increase the brand awareness through the implementation of an aggressively marketed maternity care program. To identify the factors that contributes most to the selection of a particular hospital and healthcare. To determine to what extent customers are aware of the Norton Healthcare services. To identify the relationship among various variables such as gender and their preferences etc. RESEARCH DESIGN: A research design serves as the blueprint for carrying out the research and it identifies the methods and procedures for the collection, measurement and analysis of the data (Cooper & Schindler, 2006. The research carried out by Norton Children Hospital is a descriptive study which aims to collect information about the characteristics of the subject population and then formulate investigative questions about those characteristics by discovering associations among different variables such as gender, education, income and choice of factors. In this study, the task is to determine if whether the variables are dependent or not and if they are, then to determine the strength or magnitude of the relationship. This research is a quantitative study as it aims to investigate the characteristics of the population and analyze relationship among several variables. However, the research has also rare glimpses of qualitative study since it asks qualitative questions which may provide subjective answers. The research used a survey method to acquire data from the respondents. A questionnaire was designed to which comprised of dichotomous questions, checklists and questions with a rating grid. However, there were also free response questions in the design set which provided subjective answers. It will be a self-administered survey and for the purpose management will acquire the Names and addresses of all the people living within a specific range of Norton Children Hospital. In addition to that, the management will acquire information from the past hospital records of the patients to send them surveys. SAMPLE: The sample size included 270 respondents. Overall Demographic analysis of the sample is presented below. Overall Demographics: GENDER: Since the marketing campaign was related with maternity care therefore the major chunk of the sample comprised of females. Among the sample members, 244 of the respondents were female whereas 26 respondents were identified as male. AGE: The population was widely scattered and included respondents from all age groups. However the major proportion of the sample was aged between 26-40 ranges since they are the people who mostly are the customers of maternity care program. In addition to that, the prospective mothers or people who were less than 25 years comprised of 24.4% of the sample size. MARITAL STATUS: Since maternity care program was designed for married couples, again it was consistent to choose a population which was termed as “married”. 85.6% of the sample consisted of married people whereas divorced/separated/widowed segment comprised of 10.4% of the sample size. EDUCATION: The respondents were diverse in academics ranging college to high school graduates. Among the participants 16.7% were less than high school, 15.9% were high school graduates. 35.6% of the sample population had some college in their lifetime whereas 31.9% were college graduates. INCOME: The income of the individuals in the sample was also widely dispersed. As we can see that the distribution is more of a normal distribution therefore we can infer that the sample was diverse in terms of demographics. The major portion of the sample had income over the range of $70,000- 199,999. Importance of factors in hospital selection: REPUTATION OF HOSPITAL This factor has a mean of 3.55 which implies that that reputation of hospital has an above average impact on the choice of hospital selection. The distribution is slightly skewed to the left with a standard deviation of 1.56. QUALITY OF CARE Quality of Care is amongst the prime factors which have an influence on the selecting a hospital for delivery. It has a mean of 4.07 and a standard deviation of 1.579. However, the distribution is not a bell-shaped curve since values are not scattered within the mean of the data. DISTANCE FROM HOME This variable has a mean of 2.94 implying that it’s a below average factor in a selection of a hospital. A smaller standard deviation of 0.757 also makes us certain that this variable in not amongst the essential factors. ADVICE FROM DOCTOR The data set for this variable are scattered in all range of values with a mean of 3.26 and a standard deviation of 1.652 implying that for some individuals it carries more weight than the others. The distribution is slightly skewed towards the left direction. ADVICE FROM FRIENDS This factor has a mean of 3.59 implying that it has an above average impact on the choice of hospital selection. However, since the variable has a higher standard deviation of 1.558 it implies that for some individuals it is highly important whereas for some individuals this is not an important factor. ADVERTISEMENTS This factor has a mean value of 2.49 and a standard deviation of 1.037 implying this does not highly influence the choice of selection. The distribution is slightly skewed towards the left. FREINDLINESS OF STAFF Friendliness of the staff is among the highly rated factor for the selection of hospital since it has a mean value of 4.29. Respondents were highly sensitive to the friendliness of staff and this mainly determined the choice of hospital for delivery. MATERNITY FACILITIES Maternity facilities were also included among the essential factors with a mean value of 3.43 whereas the distribution is slightly skewed towards the left signifying that it is not a cardinal factor. NURSERY FACILITIES Nursery facilities are a mediocre factor in the selection of a hospital with a mean value of 3.25 whereas the distribution is slightly skewed towards the left signifying that it is not a prime factor. MATERNITY INSURANCE Maternity insurance has a mean value of 2.95 with a standard deviation of 1.015 and it is slightly skewed towards the left. HYPOTHESIS TESTING Gender and Reputation of Hospital Let’s assume = The mean rating given by males for the reputation of hospital = The mean rating given by females for the reputation of hospital Null Hypothesis: (There is no difference in the mean rating given by males and females for the reputation of hospital) Alternative Hypothesis: (There is a significant difference in the mean rating given by males and females for the reputation of hospital) The hypothesis is to be performed at the 5% significance level, so The critical value for the two tailed test with is If the value of the test statistic is greater than 1.960 or lesser than -1.960 than reject; otherwise do not reject. As per the table the value of test statistic is 3.843 which is greater than 1.960 therefore we will reject The test results are statistically significant at the 5% level; that is, at the 5% significance level, the data do provide sufficient evidence to conclude that the mean rating given by females significantly differ from the mean rating given by males for the reputation of hospital. Gender and Quality of Care Let’s assume = The mean rating given by males for the quality of care = The mean rating given by females for the quality of care Null Hypothesis: (There is no difference in the mean rating given by males and females for the quality of care) Alternative Hypothesis: (There is a significant difference in the mean rating given by males and females for the quality of care) The hypothesis is to be performed at the 5% significance level, so The critical value for the two tailed test with is If the value of the test statistic is greater than 1.960 or lesser than -1.960 than reject; otherwise do not reject. As per the table the value of test statistic is 5.615 which is greater than 1.960 therefore we will reject The test results are statistically significant at the 5% level; that is, at the 5% significance level, the data do provide sufficient evidence to conclude that the mean rating given by females significantly differ from the mean rating given by males for the quality of care factor. Gender and Advice from Doctor Let’s assume = The mean rating given by males for the advice from doctor = The mean rating given by females for the advice from doctor Null Hypothesis: (There is no difference in the mean rating given by males and females for the advice from doctor) Alternative Hypothesis: (There is a significant difference in the mean rating given by males and females for the advice from doctor) The hypothesis is to be performed at the 5% significance level, so The critical value for the two tailed test with is If the value of the test statistic is greater than 1.960 or lesser than -1.960 than reject; otherwise do not reject. As per the table the value of test statistic is 3.273 which is greater than 1.960 therefore we will reject The test results are statistically significant at the 5% level; that is, at the 5% significance level, the data do provide sufficient evidence to conclude that the mean rating given by females significantly differ from the mean rating given by males for the advice from doctor factor. Gender and Maternity Facilities Let’s assume = The mean rating given by males for the maternity facilities = The mean rating given by females for the maternity facilities Null Hypothesis: (There is no difference in the mean rating given by males and females for the maternity facilities) Alternative Hypothesis: (There is a significant difference in the mean rating given by males and females for the maternity facilities) The hypothesis is to be performed at the 5% significance level, so The critical value for the two tailed test with is If the value of the test statistic is greater than 1.960 or lesser than -1.960 than reject; otherwise do not reject. As per the table the value of test statistic is 3.996 which is greater than 1.960 therefore we will reject The test results are statistically significant at the 5% level; that is, at the 5% significance level, the data do provide sufficient evidence to conclude that the mean rating given by females significantly differ from the mean rating given by males for the maternity facilities factor. Education and Reputation of Hospital Let’s assume = The mean rating given by respondents who have less than high school qualification for the reputation of hospital = The mean rating given by respondents who are high school graduates for the reputation of hospital = The mean rating given by respondents who have some college for the reputation of hospital = The mean rating given by respondents who are college graduates for the reputation of hospital Null Hypothesis: (There is no difference in the mean rating given by respondents with different qualifications for the reputation of hospital) Alternative Hypothesis: (There is a significant difference in the mean rating given by respondents with different qualifications for the reputation of hospital) The hypothesis is to be performed at the 5% significance level, so The critical value for the two tailed test with is If the value of the test statistic is greater than 2.60 than reject; otherwise do not reject. As per the table the value of F-test statistic is 187.520 which is greater than 2.60 therefore we will reject The test results are statistically significant at the 5% level; that is, at the 5% significance level, the data do provide sufficient evidence to conclude that there is a significant difference in the mean rating given by respondents with different qualifications for the reputation of hospital Education and Quality of Care Let’s assume = The mean rating given by respondents who have less than high school qualification for the quality of care = The mean rating given by respondents who are high school graduates for the quality of care = The mean rating given by respondents who have some college for the quality of care = The mean rating given by respondents who are college graduates for the quality of care Null Hypothesis: (There is no difference in the mean rating given by respondents with different qualifications for the quality of care) Alternative Hypothesis: (There is a significant difference in the mean rating given by respondents with different qualifications for the quality of care) The hypothesis is to be performed at the 5% significance level, so The critical value for the two tailed test with is If the value of the test statistic is greater than 2.60 than reject; otherwise do not reject. As per the table the value of F-test statistic is 57.677 which is greater than 2.60 therefore we will reject The test results are statistically significant at the 5% level; that is, at the 5% significance level, the data do provide sufficient evidence to conclude that there is a significant difference in the mean rating given by respondents with different qualifications for the quality of care factor. Education and Advice from Doctor Let’s assume = The mean rating given by respondents who have less than high school qualification for the advice from doctor = The mean rating given by respondents who are high school graduates for the advice from doctor = The mean rating given by respondents who have some college for the advice from doctor = The mean rating given by respondents who are college graduates for the advice from doctor Null Hypothesis: (There is no difference in the mean rating given by respondents with different qualifications for the advice from doctor) Alternative Hypothesis: (There is a significant difference in the mean rating given by respondents with different qualifications for the advice from doctor) The hypothesis is to be performed at the 5% significance level, so The critical value for the two tailed test with is If the value of the test statistic is greater than 2.60 than reject; otherwise do not reject. As per the table the value of F-test statistic is 159.886 which is greater than 2.60 therefore we will reject The test results are statistically significant at the 5% level; that is, at the 5% significance level, the data do provide sufficient evidence to conclude that there is a significant difference in the mean rating given by respondents with different qualifications for the advice from doctor factor. Education and Maternity Facilities Let’s assume = The mean rating given by respondents who have less than high school qualification for the maternity facilities = The mean rating given by respondents who are high school graduates for the maternity facilities = The mean rating given by respondents who have some college for the maternity facilities = The mean rating given by respondents who are college graduates for the maternity facilities Null Hypothesis: (There is no difference in the mean rating given by respondents with different qualifications for the maternity facilities) Alternative Hypothesis: (There is a significant difference in the mean rating given by respondents with different qualifications for the maternity facilities) The hypothesis is to be performed at the 5% significance level, so The critical value for the two tailed test with is If the value of the test statistic is greater than 2.60 than reject; otherwise do not reject. As per the table the value of F-test statistic is 159.886 which is greater than 2.60 therefore we will reject The test results are statistically significant at the 5% level; that is, at the 5% significance level, the data do provide sufficient evidence to conclude that there is a significant difference in the mean rating given by respondents with different qualifications for the maternity facilities factor. DIFFERENCES IN IMPORTANCE OF SELECTED FACTORS Difference in importance of reputation of hospital and Quality of Care: Let’s assume = The mean rating given by respondents for the reputation of hospital factor = The mean rating given by respondents for the quality of care factor Null Hypothesis: (There is no difference in the mean rating given by respondents for the reputation of hospital and quality of care) Alternative Hypothesis: (There is a significant difference in the mean rating given by respondents for the reputation of hospital and quality of care) The hypothesis is to be performed at the 5% significance level, so The critical value for the two tailed test with is If the value of the test statistic is greater than 1.960 or lesser than -1.960 than reject; otherwise do not reject. As per the table the value of test statistic is -3.047 which is lesser than -1.960 therefore we will reject The test results are statistically significant at the 5% level; that is, at the 5% significance level, the data do provide sufficient evidence to conclude that there is a significant difference in the mean rating given by respondents for the reputation of hospital and quality of care. Difference in importance of Advertisements and Friendliness of Staff: Let’s assume = The mean rating given by respondents for the Advertisements factor = The mean rating given by respondents for the Friendliness of staff factor Null Hypothesis: (There is no difference in the mean rating given by respondents for the advertisements and friendliness of staff) Alternative Hypothesis: (There is a significant difference in the mean rating given by respondents for the advertisements and friendliness of staff) The hypothesis is to be performed at the 5% significance level, so The critical value for the two tailed test with is If the value of the test statistic is greater than 1.960 or lesser than -1.960 than reject; otherwise do not reject. As per the table the value of test statistic is -14.130 which is lesser than -1.960 therefore we will reject The test results are statistically significant at the 5% level; that is, at the 5% significance level, the data do provide sufficient evidence to conclude that there is a significant difference in the mean rating given by respondents for the advertisements and friendliness of staff. Difference in importance of Loyalty for Delivery Hospital and Convenience of Related Services: Let’s assume = The mean rating given by respondents for the Loyalty for Delivery Hospital = The mean rating given by respondents for the Convenience of Related Services Null Hypothesis: (There is no difference in the mean rating given by respondents for Loyalty for Delivery Hospital and Convenience of Related Services) Alternative Hypothesis: (There is a significant difference in the mean rating given by respondents for Loyalty for Delivery Hospital and Convenience of Related Services) The hypothesis is to be performed at the 5% significance level, so The critical value for the two tailed test with is If the value of the test statistic is greater than 1.960 or lesser than -1.960 than reject; otherwise do not reject. As per the table the value of test statistic is -8.028 which is lesser than -1.960 therefore we will reject The test results are statistically significant at the 5% level; that is, at the 5% significance level, the data do provide sufficient evidence to conclude that there is a significant difference in the mean rating given by respondents for Loyalty for Delivery Hospital and Convenience of Related Services. Difference in importance of Full line of maternity services and High Quality Care: Let’s assume = The mean rating given by respondents for Full line of maternity services factor = The mean rating given by respondents for the High quality care Null Hypothesis: (There is no difference in the mean rating given by respondents for Full line of maternity services factor and High quality care factor) Alternative Hypothesis: (There is a significant difference in the mean rating given by respondents for Full line of maternity services factor and High quality care factor) The hypothesis is to be performed at the 5% significance level, so The critical value for the two tailed test with is If the value of the test statistic is greater than 1.960 or lesser than -1.960 than reject; otherwise do not reject. As per the table the value of test statistic is -7.858 which is lesser than -1.960 therefore we will reject The test results are statistically significant at the 5% level; that is, at the 5% significance level, the data do provide sufficient evidence to conclude that there is a significant difference in the mean rating given by respondents for Full line of maternity services factor and High quality care factor. CONTRIBUTION OF FACTORS TO FREQUENCY OF USE: Multiple Regression Linear Equation: Dependant Variable: No. of times treated in the last year Independent Variables: Loyalty for Delivery hospital Convenience of related services Full maternity services High quality care Very convenient Regression Equation The R-square of 0.330 shows that only 33% of the variation is explained by the regression equation therefore these variables are not useful predictor for determining the no. of visits. INTERPRETATION OF FINDINGS: The test results are statistically significant at the 5% level; that is, at the 5% significance level, the data do provide sufficient evidence to conclude that the mean rating given by females significantly differ from the mean rating given by males for The reputation of hospital Quality of Care Advice from Doctors and Maternity Facilities The data also provide sufficient evidence to conclude that there is a significant difference in the mean rating given by respondents with different qualifications for the The reputation of hospital Quality of Care Advice from Doctors and Maternity Facilities The data do provide sufficient evidence to conclude that there is a significant difference in the mean rating given by respondents for The reputation of hospital and quality of care Advertisements and Friendliness of Staff Loyalty for Delivery Hospital and Convenience of Related Services Full line of maternity services and High Quality Care CONCLUSION: The research conducted by Norton Children’s Hospital regarding the implementation of an aggressively marketed maternity care program has revealed several interesting points. Firstly, Norton has successfully captured the demographics of the local population and it can segment them according to age, gender, education, and income level. The findings of the research show that males and females significantly differ in rating the importance of different factors. Also it is apparent that those females rate the factors highly than males, so the importance of female as a target population is highlighted. In addition to that, the research spotlights the educational level and its importance for segmenting the target market. Individuals with different qualification levels rate different factors in a different manner therefore the hospital should customize their offerings to people with different qualifications. The study also emphasizes on the importance of certain factors which will be helpful in increasing the brand equity. Those mainly include quality of care, friendliness of staff, maternity facilities and reputation of hospital. So the hospital should focus on those factors based on the priorities in order to solve its management problem. RECOMMENDATIONS: The target market should be segmented on the basis of gender and educational level. The research found that there are significant differences in the importance of certain factors from other factors therefore further research should be conducted to identify which factors are more important than others. Once it is identified that a certain factor is most important than that factor should be analyzed and the management should identify what are the element that enhance that factor. Quality of care and friendliness of the staff had the highest mean rating therefore they should be given prime importance when designing the maternity care program. REFERENCES: Cooper, D. R. and Schindler, P. S. 2006, Business Research Methods (Ninth Edition), McGraw Hill: New York Read More